


First Snow

by jncar



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Storybrooke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:17:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jncar/pseuds/jncar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the middle of a noisy family gathering, Emma and Killian take a short break to watch the falling snow. Future-fic set in Storybrooke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Some cozy domestic fluff for cs fluff month.

Emma dries her hands after finishing the dishes, and looks around for Killian. He isn't in the great room anymore, though David, Mary Margaret, Henry, Ruby, Archie and Granny are all on the sofas and chairs. Emma squeezes her lips together and frowns ever so slightly. This is only the second weekly family-and-friends dinner at her parents' new house that he's attended—and only the third week they've officially been together. He still seems ill at ease in the crowd, as if he thinks they'll all suddenly decide that pirates aren't welcome after all.

They never would—not after all he's done for their family. Not after how happy he's made her. And Emma thinks that deep down Killian knows that. He's just not ready to let himself believe, yet.

She slips out of the kitchen and heads toward the front room. Sure enough, he's standing by the front bay window, staring out at the falling snow.

He smiles when she slides up beside him and wraps her arm around his. "Hi," she says.

"Hello, love," he replies, meeting her eyes briefly before turning back to the snow.

It drifts lazily down from the dark sky, glowing in the light of the streetlamp just down the street. Already a thin white blanket covers the landscape, slicking the road and putting a puffy white cap on each and every post of the white picket fence surrounding the front yard. (Leave it to her parents to buy the only house in Storybrooke with a white picket fence.)

Emma feels a chill creeping in through the old windows, and she shivers. Killian shifts to wrap his arm around her back and pull her close. 

He can't like this cold. Just last week she'd finally forced him to let David take him shopping, and he now stands clad in jeans, a t-shirt and a cardigan, but he still insists on wearing his leather coat everywhere. Emma's pretty sure it won't be enough to keep out the bite of the harsh Maine winter.

"We need to go buy you a parka," she says.

He tilts his head toward her and raises an eyebrow. "A parka? What in blazes is a parka?"

Emma smiles. She still gets a kick out of filling him in on the details of the modern world. "It's one of those big puffy winter coats people have been wearing lately. You've seen them."

"Aye. They look bloody ridiculous. I'd rather wear a cat on my head." 

Emma rolls her eyes. "You might change your mind when you freeze half to death walking back to the docks in your leather coat. You're not used to this kind of cold."

"You may have a point." Killian sighs, still staring out at the snow. "It never got cold in Neverland. And it was high summer when I return to the Enchanted Forest. I'd forgotten how biting the cold can be, before I made here to Storybrooke."

He has the same tight tone in his voice that he always uses when confronted with a painful memory—of which he has far too many. Emma slips her arm around his waist, squeezing him a little closer to share her warmth.

"It does take some getting used to," she says.

"That it does." His voice is still tight. "I didn't miss the cold. I never much cared for it. But the snow—" He nods slowly. "—that I missed. There's something to be said for a bit of weather that reminds you so forcefully of the passage of time. Too many people take time for granted."

Emma reaches up to thread her fingers through his. "The passage of time is important. The changing of the seasons—holidays—football season. . ." She trails off and smiles up at him as he rolls his eyes. He still hasn't figured out why she and David like football so much.

"Naturally your precious game comes to mind before things like—oh—growing old with the ones you love or watching your children grow up. Starting a family." His smile is teasing.

She shrugs. "I suppose those things are important, too." For just a moment she sucks on her lip, trying to decide if she wants to ask her next question. To hell with it. He's been open about his feelings with her more times than she can count—why not add another instance to the list? She just hopes his answer isn't too disappointing. "Are you really okay with this family thing, then? I mean, the whole _big family that always wants to spend time together_ thing? You just seem—a little uncomfortable. Sometimes." She sucks on her lip again and braces herself for the answer.

"I love your family. I think it's great."

His answer is too quick and too simple. Emma frowns a little. "So that's why you're out here looking at the snow instead of back there having a good time?"

He takes a deep breath and turns to face her, his piercing blue eyes holding her gaze. "Emma, just because something makes me uncomfortable sometimes doesn't mean I don't love it. I do. Like—like the snow. I wouldn't want to sleep out there, but it's still beautiful." He gestures at the window, and Emma's heart skips a beat. "I love what you have with your family. I think it's bloody fantastic. It's just so—new. I'm still getting used to it. I think I just need a break from time to time, and then I'm ready to go back for more. That's all."

"Really? You're not just saying that?" Emma swallows hard.

"Look at me, love. Have I ever lied to you when it really matters?" His tone is light, but his eyes are serious.

She shakes her head. "No. You haven't."

"And I'm not lying now. I'm happy. I'm happy to be here with you, and I'm happy to be here with your family. I just needed a short break. Understand?" He smiles and gently squeezes her upper arm with his hand.

"Okay. I get needing a break." And she does. She knows perfectly well how overwhelmingly sweet Mary Margaret and David can be together, sometimes. And Killian's told her how, when only a handful of his crew were left, he got used to spending days at a time in virtual silence. The noise of her parents' happy home is way outside his comfort zone. "I remember feeling that way a lot when I first started living with them."

He nods and smirks. "See—I knew I couldn't be the only one."

She laughs. "Yeah. They did take some getting used to. But I like it, now. I really do."

"I like it, too. And when my little break is done, I promise to come back into the fray ready to have a jolly time with the rest of you lot." He leans a little closer. "I love your family, and I especially love you."

Those words still send a thrill through Emma's body every time she hears them. "I love you, too."

Their lips brush in a short, sweet, kiss, and then she leans her head against his chest and looks out at the snow again. "It really is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Aye. It's exquisite." She's not entirely sure if he's talking about the snow, or about something else.

She smiles. "We should go sledding."

"You mean slide down snowy hills on boards?"

"Well, these days sleds are usually plastic. But, yeah." She glances up at him.

He raises an eyebrow. "I've never been. Is it any fun?"

"I—" Emma's voice catches as some of her own hard memories surface. "I've never been, either. None of the families I lived with growing up ever took me." She swallows the pain and continues, "But Henry really likes it. He's been talking about it all week."

Killian grins. "Well, then. If Henry likes it, it must be worth a try. Very well. Tomorrow morning you can take me shopping, and we'll get a _parka_ ," he drawls the word disdainfully, "and a pair of sleds, and give it a go."

Emma squeezes him tight, joy welling in her chest. Some days it's still hard to believe that this is what her life is now. That she's made it through the worst, and now this is her reward. "That sounds perfect. Can I invite Henry to join us? He can give us some expert advice."

Henry and Killian have been getting along well, but there's still a little unresolved tension there. Henry had been so disappointed when she told him that she and Neal were never getting back together. She still feels like she needs to encourage Henry and Killian to bond whenever she can.

Killian nods. "I'd be delighted to have him along."

She grins. "Do you know the best part? When we're all snowy and frozen and ready to call it a day, we can drop Henry off at Regina's and you can come back to my place so we can warm each other up."

His lusty grin echoes hers. "That sounds like my idea of a good time."

"Mine too."

They share another kiss—a little deeper and more passionate than the last—and then Emma steps back.

"Okay. I'll head back in, now, and see if Henry wants to join us on our sledding date. And you'll . . .?"

He smiles softly. "I'll join you when I'm done with my break."

"Okay."

"Okay," he whispers back, and then turns to look out at the snow again.

Emma stares at his silhouette against the window for a few moments, reveling in the contentment and peace she feels in her heart. Then she heads back to her family, knowing that Killian won't be far behind.


End file.
